Repenting from sin of white supremacy
The absurdity of seeing a former white police officer use his knee as a lethal weapon on the neck of handcuffed George Floyd, the cold- blooded murder of Breonna Taylor in her own home by Louisville undercover officers, and the horrific hunting down of Ahmed Aubrey underscore in this contemporary time what has been the historical reality of black and brown people in America. Many textbooks seek to whitewash the reality that law enforcement in America has been used as a tool to control and subjugate black and brown bodies. This control and subjugation is conversely meant to protect and serve white bodies. It is difficult for many white Americans to reconcile what they hear from black and brown people about police brutality and their experiences and their perceptions. The very presence of black bodies in America has been a threat to the ideology of white supremacy that sees white culture as the normative way of life.
In the instance of George Floyd’s murder, the world could not ignore the seeming cavalierness of Officer Derek Chauvin and the complicity of the other officers as Mr. Floyd gasped, “I can’t breathe” and died. In essence, Mr. Floyd’s life did not matter to them. This is the harsh reality and painful legacy in America.
And let’s be clear, the issue is not whether many black and brown people have excelled in spite of the racism
— many have. The issue is, why has the black body been such a source of disdain, disregard and disrespect? Those who have been shocked by the brutal murder of Mr. Floyd have by omission or comission ignored the voices of those who have warned America of the virus of racism that has infected this country since its founding.
The question that white Americans must answer is, why is the black body so threatening? After all, it has not been the black body that has robbed and looted the land of the indigenous people of America. It has not been the black body that snatched and murdered millions of free human beings in the name of freedom. It has not been black bodies that have confiscated other people’s land in the name of a so- called doctrine of discovery. It has not been black bodies that have used human bodies as experiments for the treatments of syphilis and gonorrhea. It has not been black bodies that have been comfortable with keeping other human beings in cages. It has not been black bodies who have taken photographs of the black bodies that were being lynched and who brought their children to see these black bodies hanging from trees. There is a vexing virus embedded within the American culture that is threatening to destroy it, not because of black bodies but because of the way black bodies have been perceived and are being treated. It has not been black bodies who have pepper sprayed and tear gassed peaceful protesters only so that a narcissistic and inept occupant of the White House could engage in a shallow and preposterous photo op.
Until America repents from the sin of white supremacy, black bodies will continue to die. There is a presumed sense of righteousness that keeps many whites from seeing their own complicity and participation in the white supremacist system. There are however, people of different races and ethnicities who have and are pushing back on the white supremacist assumption that seeks to place white culture at the center of the universe. We say, hell no, black lives matter! Our continued resistance will take many forms. In the words of my dear brother, the Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, as he sings the lyrics from the Peace Poets “we ain’t gonna stop until our people are free.”